Definition:
Flail chest refers to a section of the rib cage that has broken away from the surrounding ribs. Usually, more than one rib is involved, and they are broken in at least two places. Flail chest typically is the result of blunt chest trauma and is more common in the elderly.
These segments of broken ribs got the name flail chest because the segments flail back and forth opposite from the rest of the chest wall. In other words, as the rest of the chest expands to suck in a breath of air, the flail chest segment sucks in. During exhalation, when the rest of the chest contracts, the flail chest segment bulges out. Often, a grinding sound or feeling called crepitus goes with the flailing segment.
Also Known As: flail segment
